


Airy House, Glory Analog Rules(circa 1905 edition)

by aphoticdepths



Category: Sunless Skies
Genre: Comedy, Convergent Evolution Of Party Games, Crack-ish, Ficlet, Gen, Mornington Crescent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 15:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18076280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphoticdepths/pseuds/aphoticdepths
Summary: Boredom is an oft-overlooked danger of certain areas of the High Wilderness, but the officers have some remedies to that. Or-Mornington Crescent, as played in the High Wilderness.





	Airy House, Glory Analog Rules(circa 1905 edition)

Driving through Albion has none of the marks of the other regions. In the Reach, any mistake can lead to crashing into a wall of rock. In Eleutheria, eyes must be on alert to see what in the gloom is obstacle, hostile, or nothing dangerous. In the Blue Kingdom, the dangers are such that no mortal can relax for an instant. But Albion has been clear-cut, bent and broken, and much of the drive through it is a long, silent ride through space that has been scoured over, with only odd bits of masonry and glassy graves in the engine's path.

Thus, crews resort to some very odd habits to make the time go by.

"House of Hughs,"the Fortunate Navigator said.

"Come off it," Petronella squeaked, "that's hardly a port. Just a building. You can hardly even see it from a train!"

"It's written on maps, so it counts. Reece-Holland rules."

"Reece-Holland rules?!" the Inconvenient Aunt protested. "Reece-Holland rules hardly count as Airy House!"

"Do too," Cinders retorted.

"Let's not get mucked up over the rules." The Felined Eccentric frowned in deep thought, before jabbing her finger down. "Navigator's left us an opportunity with the Odysseus theorem, so I'm going to go all out and say Nell's Tower."

The Incautious Driver sputtered, "Dirty move! Dirty move!" as the Navigator squawked, "Nell's Tower!?"

"It's in the rules as an entirely valid form of lateral diagonal movement." She shrugged. "Aunt's turn next."

The Aunt looked down on the Engineer with a glare that could reduce devils and kings to quivering, apologetic messes. "Put my minutes on Nell's Tower so I can hop to Brabazon Station," she said in a frosty tone.

The Navigator raised a hand. "Hold it, what's Brabazon Station? Never heard of it."

"The proper name for the Bit Between, and the only way to refer to it in a proper game of Airy House. You young people play like you've only read the rulebook thrice."

The Incautious Driver winced. "Ooh, that's a toughie." They drummed their fingers on the table. "Well, now you've played your minutes, I've got to reverse them by the Sun, which takes me to...Home Office." They looked to the Rat Brigade.

"Azimuth," Albrecht said tersely. "And I zink that the Aunt is bridging."

"Bridging? Well, I never! It's a fifth-direction shunt, perfectly legal under the Valentine rules. Which are, before you youngsters say anything, included as an appendix in the Reece-Holland."

The Clay Conductor, who was passing by, looked the game over. In a sepulchral voice, he uttered, "Cotteridge's 1904 decision. The Supralapsian," and continued on his way out of the room.

The Driver crowed. "Oh, that's a tricky one! Well chosen!"

"That play's illegal in the Reece-Holland rules!" the Navigator protested.

"Oh, sod the Reece-Holland rules!" Cinders squeaked.

The Fatalistic Signalman and the Incognito Princess watched, the Princess's perfect brow wrinkled in thought as the Signalman just gaped.

"Do you know," he asked, "what the hell they're doing?"

"I think it's something common, but quite honestly, I haven't a clue."

**Author's Note:**

> Airy House is the title of the game because I feel that it had to have ended up starting at the Royal Society. The goal is to get to the point where you say that, which makes the Eccentric's ploy even more shocking. You learn some dirty tricks in Eleutheria.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mornington_Crescent_(game)


End file.
